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Spinning on an indoor or outdoor bike is Guaranteed to Burn Fat |
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Houston area residents may wish to consider trying spinning to help
peel off unwanted inches. Spinning classes are offered in the gym to help burn calories and body fat, but
anyone who has a bike can practice the different techniques shown here
to bring up the heart rate and improve strength and endurance.
Spinning, what the class was named for, is to put the bike on the least
amount of resistance so the pedals rotate very easily and quickly. The
cyclist will have to pedal very fast, keeping the feet in the pedals
but will not actually be going fast. This type of riding is for moving
up steep hills but works well in a neighborhood or in a crowed park
where too many pedestrians make it unsafe to ride fast because the
person can still get a great workout even though they cannot go fast.
Hover back is where the rider crouches low on the handlebars of the
bike and is used during endurance riding but alsois helpful for picking up speed. The gear
may vary in resistance and the rider keeps a low profile for reducing
wind resistance and for drafting off of the person in front. Because
the rider is not seated, hover back gets the heart rate up more than seated
riding.
Pop Ups are done when the rider stands up for a few seconds in a heavy
resistance gear and then sits down for a few seconds and repeats the stand up/sit down
over and over for several minutes. This technique is for picking up
speed when on the road in order to catch up with someone ahead. The
constantly changing position from seated to standing will get the heart
rate up fast and pop ups are a great technique for adding intervals to
an otherwise flat ride.
Strength riding is for building leg muscle strength while seated on the
saddle and involves putting the bike in a gear with the hardest
resistance so a great deal of effort is expended to rotate the pedals without standing.
This gear is often used for going downhills fast and because it is somewhat difficult to keep up for
long periods of time, it can build great strength in the quads and hamstrings. This gear can also be hard on individuals with
bad knees so if it causes discomfort, the rider should reduce the
resistance some.
Left are photos of Houston Personal Trainer Melissa practicing spinning
techniques on her trail bike in Houston Texas near Spring.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 22 October 2007 )
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